Chapter 237 Have You Kicked the Bucket?
Calista felt them coming, but she couldn’t muster the strength to look. On the other hand, Lucian’s eyes remained sharp. He narrowed his eyes at the person who was traveling up the mountain path.
It wasn’t Cade. The peChapter 236 Regretting the Divorce
There was no sound behind him, leading Lucian to believe that Calista might have been upset by his
words.
He continued after pausing for a few seconds, “So, you’re better off giving up on trying to get away from
me.”
He heard nothing from her despite waiting for a long time. He frowned, found a steady position, and hefted the person on his back.
“Callie! Calista! Calista Everhart!”
Despite his calls, the person on his back remained unresponsive.
Lucian panicked and hurriedly set Calista down. He was usually a fussy rich man with clear standards for where the wrinkles should sit when ironing his clothes.
But now, he was sitting on the muddy mountain path and cradling her in his arms.
The woman’s face was blue from the cold. Her disheveled hair clung to her face and her eyes were tightly
shut. Rather than being upset at him, she seemed to have fainted from the cold.
Lucian patted her face; his hands were already quite cold but Calista’s face was even colder.
“Wake up, Callie. Cade will be here soon. Don’t fall asleep.”
He bent down slightly, shielding her from the raindrops falling from the sky.
“I’m going to kiss you if you don’t wake up.”
Calista frowned, thought it was unclear if it was because he had patted her face or his words. She buried.
her face into his arms.
“I’m tired. I want to sleep. Stop being annoying.
She could feel the warmth draining from her body. Of course, Lucian wasn’t going to let her fall asleep. Seeing her respond, he held her shoulders and shook her.
“Can we talk?”
Calista, who was on the verge of falling asleep, was awakened again. Her brows were furrowed.
“Talk about what?”
Lucian fell silent. He barely knew anything about her profession. So, there was no point starting there.
1/4
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Now that he thought about it, the only topic between them that might pique her interest was…
“Let’s talk about Paul,” he said.
She thought about his words but didn’t know what to say.
Lucian took off her drenched coat and held her tightly in his arms to attempt to provide her freezing body
some warmth.
“Why did you like Paul back then?”
Calista frowned, not wanting to answer the question. She liked him because she liked him. There was no specific reason.
“Was it because he helped you deal with those thugs?”
She was left stunned for a few seconds before she realized the meaning behind his words.
“Perhaps.”
She could barely remember the naive love of her teenage years. How was she supposed to pinpoint when she had started liking Paul? Lucian stroked her face.
“Now that you know the person who
saved you is me, shouldn’t you be falling in love with me instead?”
Calista rolled her eyes and couldn’t be bothered to respond. This wasn’t like doing schoolwork where she could erase her answers and rewrite them.
He spoke again when he realized she wasn’t going to reply after half a minute of silence.
“Were you afraid?”
A long time had passed since then. She had forgotten most of the details.
But perhaps it was because it was her first time encountering something like that, the fear she
experienced was deeply etched into her bones.
“Yes.”
“What if Paul never answered you that night? What would you have done?”
They were partying at Cade’s place that night. Paul had been drunk and never checked his phone.
Calista’s message was something he inadvertently saw.
Later, during the commotion, his phone had accidentally fallen into the pool. The group consisted of
There were no important calls they had to take. No one wanted to go into the pool to fish it out in that
weather either.
By the time the maids fished it out the next day, it was already damaged from being submerged in water. Calista gave it some thought and then shook her head.
If that man had been motivated by momentary lust, she could’ve sought refuge with a friend for a few
days.
But Wayne Cardoso had made it clear that he would wait for her at school. If Paul hadn’t responded, she would probably fight him tooth and nail.
Lucian looked at her muddle–headed expression and wanted nothing more than to crush the heartless
woman in his
s arms.
Didn’t you ever think to turn to
someone else for help?”
She shook her head.
“Who else could I have turned to?”
Zachary despised her. Those who befriended her because of her status as the eldest daughter of the Everhart family all wanted to stay away from her,
The only person who never changed was Paul. Who else could she have turned to? Calista stared at
Lucian, and her muddled thoughts began to clear.
The man was drenched from head to toe. Rainwater dripped from his stern profile. His dark eyes stood out in the night. Was he suggesting that she should’ve gotten help from him?
“Why did you help me back then? If I recall, we weren’t close.”
The only interactions they shared were because of their connection to Paul. Their connection had been so shallow that it would not be worth it for him to step in and resort to violence.
According to Selena, that man wanted revenge and drove into Lucian by taking advantage of his
inattention. He ended up in the hospital.
Lucian must’ve looked into Wayne before doing this. He couldn’t have been unaware of what kind of
person he was.
“I didn’t want to see you cry.”
The man pursed his lips. His voice was hoarse. Cold lips brushed against Calista’s earlobe, but he didn’t
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However, the man didn’t move away, leaving her to believe that the man was likely kissing her. Her shivering body stiffened.
“I didn’t cry:”
Had she cried? She didn’t remember. But she had sent a few text messages that day. Even if she had cried, he couldn’t possibly know.
“You did. It was such a miserable cry too. You were like a bullied kitten.
Calista was certain that he was lying. Even if she had cried, she would never cry like a helpless kitten. That wasn’t like her at all. Even if she did cry, she would be wailing with no care for her image.
Her head was rested against the man’s shoulder with his jaw above her. He was shielding her from the raindrops so her words were no longer drowned out by the pouring rain.
“Do you regret divorcing me, Lucian?”
Lucian was too close. Calista’s lips were occasionally brushing against his bobbing Adam’s apple. It made her hesitate to open her mouth, making her voice sound somewhat strange.
Recently, he had been showing up wherever she went and acting in ways that would invite misunderstandings. She wasn’t a fool who was blind to his advances.
“Yes,” he answered.
It took her a while to respond, but her voice was so soft that it was barely audible. However, it was difficult to ignore when her words were resolute.
“I don’t regret divorcing you. I think things are fine the way they are now. So, stop wasting your time on me.
Lucian chuckled.
“What’s fine? You’re fine with me pestering you like a piece of toffee?”
Calista said nothing.
A glaring beam from a flashlight shone up at them, piercing through the rain and the unyielding darkness.
It vividly exposed their disheveled states to their approaching audience.
rson was alone and well–equipped with hiking equipment. He wore a specialized raincoat that was highly effective against blocking out the rain.
His black military boots firmly gripped the slippery mountain trail as if it were a flat surface.
“Calista…”
Seeing the half–conscious Calista held tightly in Lucian’s arms, the man rushed to their side. It was Hector. Lucian’s tense body finally relaxed.
He asked, “Why are you alone?
Hector bent down to check on Calista and sneered when he heard Lucian’s words.
“I’m here to see if you’ve kicked the bucket yet. If you’re not dead, allow me to kick you down the
mountain.”
Lucian said nothing. Hector fastened the flashlight to the buckle on his waist and reached out to take
Calista out of Lucian’s arms.
Lucian instinctively tightened his grip. There was barely any strength in it but it was enough to form some
resistance.
As Hector got closer, his icy glare became impossible to conceal. He stared at Lucian’s pale face.
“Do you want her to freeze to death up here with you?”
He had already been driving up the mountain when the downpour began. That was how he arrived earlier
than Cade.
Fortunately, he had professional mountain climbing gear in his car. Otherwise, he’d be no better than Lucian as he fought his way through the rain to make it up the hill.
Cade had given Hector a heads–up that Lucian wasn’t going to take Calista to the City Hall.
But he hadn’t expected a wealthy tycoon with a net worth in the billions to bring her to a long abandoned
observation deck. And, he had no idea this place even existed.
He drove down the mountain. Hector was certain that Lucian was nowhere near as quick as him when navigating a highway with a cliff on one side and a precipice on the other.
For others, it was a dangerous stretch of road. But to him, it carne lika seculiu
the road with his eyes closed.
But he failed to catch up to Lucian even when he reached the foot of the mountain Hector hesitated for a few seconds before turning around and driving back up the mountain
He had enough of this. It was a waste of his effort to locate this pl
The mere thought had him speaking with disdain, “I commend you for managing to find a shitty place like this. Most people go to romantic spots when they’re trying to won someone. You, on the other hand, keep choosing the most life–threatening spots.”
Most employees from the vacation resort didn’t know about the observation deck on the mountain’s peak
at all.
Hector ended up having to ask an old employee who had been around for more than a decade to know about it. Yara had mentioned a lunar eclipse yesterday too,
That’s why he decided to come up here to try his luck. He didn’t think he’d find them here. Fortunately, he
found them.
Lucian couldn’t be bothered to entertain his sarcastic comments and released his grip from Calista’s
waist.
“She can’t hold on any longer. You better hurry.
Hector clicked his tongue. If it weren’t for Calista’s state that didn’t allow a delay, he would’ve taken advantage of this bastard’s weakness and beaten him up.
They say it was best to catch someone off guard for a cheap shot. He couldn’t agree more.
Hector opened his raincoat and gathered Calista’s freezing body into his arms. His body had long since gotten used to the bad weather after having encountered them during his training and missions.
But holding her in his arms still made his muscles tense due to the icy chill. He frowned and turned
without a moment’s delay.
“You better fucking survive. Don’t go freezing to death. I’ll send for a rescue once I’m downhill.”
Hector was speaking to Lucian.
“No need. Cade is already sending his men up here. The ambulance is also on the way. Just hand Callie
off to the doctors.”
“Holy shit, you’re just her ex–husband. Who gave you the right to act so intimately with her? Leave Callie’s
Even though they were bantering. Hector’s steps never slowed.
“She’s still fine now. But if anything happens to her while she’s in your care, I’ll kill you myself,” Lucian said.
Holding Calista felt as if he were hugging a block of ice. What part of her looked fine?
He was already leaving. Lucian couldn’t hear what Hector was saying anymore. Given Calista’s condition, there was no time to waste. He would confront Lucian about it later.
Lucian watched the beam of light getting farther and farther away and leaned against the rough tree trunk next to him. Slowly, his eyes began to close.
Lucian was barely conscious by the time Cade and Paul arrived with a team. The chaotic footsteps didn’t elicit any response from him.
It was the discomfort from the flashlight’s glare that had him frowning and opening his eyes. Both men heaved a sigh of relief to see him awake. Paul draped a raincoat over him.
“Can you make it?”
Lucian stared intently at Paul. It took him a few seconds to register who was standing before him and turning away with a huff. This was the thief who had stolen his prize.
He didn’t even have to do anything for the idiot Calista to fall in love with him. Paul, meanwhile, was
confused.
If he didn’t have a decent upbringing and his distaste for violence, he would’ve given Lucian a piece of his
mind.
He had climbed such a tall mountain in the freezing and rainy weather to come to Lucian’s rescue, only
for said man to throw him dirty looks.
He should’ve turned around when he saw Hector with Calista in his arms. Paul got up.
“Since you’re well enough to act all huffy, you can get up and walk then.”
The disgruntled Cade helped Lucian to his feet and handed him off to the bodyguards who had a
stretcher prepared.
*Are the two of you that bored? How do you two still have the energy to fight?”
By the time Lucian had been taken downhill, Calista had already been whisked away by the ambulance.
He returned to the resort, took a hot shower, and got changed into a fresh set of clothes. His condition.
“Are you feeling alright?
Tm fine Lucian put on his watch as he descended the stairs. “Which hospital did the ambulance come
from?”
Cade let out a snort.
“Love has made you stupid, huh? You should open your eyes. Calista has made it clear that she doesn’t want anything to do with you anymore. She wants you to stay away from her. It’s fine if you’re going to the hospital for a check–up if you’re not feeling well. But you were a human popsicle stick up there. And now you’re eagerly going to her the moment you recover. Are you an idiot?”
Lucian ignored him and was already at the stairs.
Cade stuck one hand into his pocket and casually trailed along. The rain had yet to stop. He wasn’t keen
on seeing Lucian rushing to his death.
“I can introduce you to some women if you want. I got a few photos on my phone. Why don’t you check
them out and take your pick?”
Lucian stopped in his tracks and turned around.
“Take a pick? Does Cameron know you have pictures of other women on your phone?”
